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Recent entries
some death-defying species from madagascar, my death defied and her extinction defied, yeah both in one trip - 2009-08-11
the borg - 2009-08-10
appearing soon in your hometown - 2009-08-10
tweet - 2009-08-09
don't be talking about me in front of my face, yall - 2009-08-06
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By public demand, and after a delay of an embarrassing number of years, I've finally put my notorious essay, Ender and Hitler: Sympathy for the Superman, free on the fabulous internets.
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A bibliography of my published books and stories.
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Here's my card-counting FAQ. |
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| Visit my original website but I recommend putting pop-up/banner blockers on first. |
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| A Sadean take on Asimov's classic Three Laws of Robotics can be found in Roger Williams' NOW REVIEWED ON SLASHDOT!!!
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect. Adult readers only please -- explicit sex and violence. For updates
on the "Dead Tree Project" and other topics, you may visit
the localroger diary. |
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| Visit Peachfront's Cookbook, for recipes that are fast, cheap, and good. A work in progress. |
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| The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill blog by Mark Bittner about feral Cherry-Headed Conures in San Francisco. |
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the peachfront conure files part 2
2005-04-17 - 9:01 a.m.
Note: You are reading Part 2 of the Peachfront Conure Files.
To start with Part 1,
please click here.
March 17, 2005:
Ronnie throws in the towel.
March 30, 2005: Ronnie tries again.
April 17, 2005: A tale of two nests -- Beep and Dale casually lay and crack their two eggs, but Ronnie and Courtney are still hard at work.
April 19, 2005: A tale of two nests redux -- Beep and Dale neglect another egg, Ronnie and Courtney hard at work on 4 eggs.
April 20, 2005: Dead in Shell -- Ronnie and Courtney bicker, leading me to discover that a chick died before it could emerge from the egg. They're still fertile, but for some reason their chicks can't get past the first day or two of life.
April 21, 2005: Dale and Beep break another egg, Ronnie and Courtney are back to normal.
Hurricane Katrina -- the displaced: I left at night about an hour after the evacuation was ordered. The birds were really sweet and cooperative, although Timmy did start over-preening Sheldon, so I had to split them up. When it became obvious that we were stranded for an indefinite period, Roger built large cages to allow them to get out of the temporary carriers and stretch their wings. Roger and I both caught colds, and Beep apparently caught it too, whether out of sympathy or whether she had a bug, I'll never know. By the next day, she was pretty much cured, and Courtney and Ronnie were so energetic that they flirted, then started to copulate until they noticed I was observing them. I returned Beep to the big cage she shares with Dale, and Beep, Sheldon, and Courtney all decided to take a celebratory bath. while their respective partners observed the splashing. The long drive home after we were allowed back in the neighborhood after Hurricane Rita went smoothly.
December 2, 2005: Timmy survives the catastrophe in fine feather, only to start picking again today. Sigh.
January 8, 2006:Ronnie lays two eggs. I remove wheat from the diet, and Timmy stops picking again.
January 29, 2006: Ack. I've kept Timmy on a wheat-free diet, but I noticed last night that he was again plucking a spot on his back.
March 18, 2006: Ronnie and Courtney hatch a fresh chick, Beep and Dale crack some fresh eggs.
March 19, 2006:: The little guy didn't make it.
March 19, 2006 part deaux: I was wrong, and the little guy is fine, knock on wood.
March 25, 2006:I'm sorry to say that Courtney and Ronnie's three chicks did not survive.
April 24, 2006:Instead of dropping off eggs and ignoring them, Beep and Dale are starting to act a little more like grown-ups. Beep is guarding the nestbox from the outside. Dale is going inside the box for fairly long periods. There are 3 eggs.
May 24, 2006:It has become blazingly obvious to all except the proud parents themselves that Beep and Dale's eggs are not fertile. I had to move all the conures out anyway so that the termite guy could spray, and I took the opportunity to remove the eggs as well. I also did a major cage change-up.
May 27, 2006: DH builds a huge new flight cage for Beep and Dale. The faithful double-decker condo flight, over 20 years old now, is retired. May 28, 2006: Me too, me too -- Timmy and Sheldon also get a new cage.
July 5, 2006: Beep worries me again.
July 6, 2006: Beep sure hasn't lost her appetite over it.
July 7, 2006: Beep's fine, and she rejoins Dale.
July 12, 2006: All of the conures are lookin' good.
August 4, 2006: Beep passes away at age 15.
August 5, 2006:More thoughts on Beep, the life expectancy of peachfronts, and the condition of the survivors.
August 13, 2006:I move Sheldon in with Dale.
August 14, 2006: Sheldon and Dale's first day together, with photos.
August 17, 2006: It's almost certainly unnecessary, but I've split up Sheldon and Dale again while I work out my ideas for their permanent housing.
August 20, 2006: So, yeah, I'm still swapping birds around.
August 21, 2006: Sheldon's still acting a little odd.
August 24, 2006: Sheldon and Dale, together again at last.
November 21, 2006: I'm taking Ronnie and Courtney indoors for a few days.
December 8, 2006: Bitter cold weather. Ronnie and Courtney are still indoors, Timmy has joined then, and Dale and Sheldon are getting supplemental heat from a strong light bulb.
December 9, 2006: Dale and Sheldon bond on how they think I'm a CIA torturer shining a light on their dirty deeds 24/7.
February 15, 2007: Semi-random update on the 5 conures, who are all doing fine despite the changing weather.
March 5, 2007: Courtney steps up--oh, yeah, a little bird can step up and ride his perch if he really, really feels like it.
March 22, 2007: Spring update -- Timmy goes on a picking spree, Dale and Sheldon get a little broody, and Courtney and Ronnie just hang out.
March 29, 2007: The strange goings-on in the bird aviary become clear when I realize that I've placed Ronnie and Sheldon together -- and that now Ronnie is sitting on eggs. Courtney and Dale are getting along OK, but Courtney isn't as affectionate with Dale as he was with Ronnie.
August 25, 2007: Despite an unusually hot summer, the conures look better than ever. But somehow they've gotten mixed up again. WTF?
August 26, 2007: Courtney and Ronnie are back together again, as are Dale and Sheldon -- it's just that they've swapped their original cages.
September 28, 2007: I'm sick of these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking...uh, wait a minute. But, sigh, it appears that no one gets out of the avicultural experience without some conflict with a serpentine species. I've moved the birds back indoors until we've removed the snake from the premises.
September 29, 2007: The snake is gone, and DH and I have cleaned and refurbed the conure flights. The birds are back outside enjoying the afternoon.
January 11, 2008: Courtney says it is cold, and it isn't cold. Worried.
January 12, 2008: Courtney is still under the weather, although he's eating, drinking, and speaking.
January 20, 2008: Courtney is looking better, with one eye completely clear, and he has regained the ability to control his head bobbing.
January 23, 2008: Both of Courtney's eyes are clear and open now, he's eating well, speaking to Ronnie, climbing about, just all-around more active and interested. More often, he sits away from the heat lamp instead of huddled up close to it. I'm getting encouraged.
February 27, 2008 Courtney is back on top of things -- speaking his mind, chewing a manzanita perch, and even courting the lovely Ronnie again. Also, Dale is sitting on three eggs, while Sheldon guards the box -- final proof that Dale is a female, as I have long suspected.
March 3, 2008: Sadly, Timmy passed away suddenly on the afternoon of Thursday, February 28, at the age of 15.
March 30, 2008. Dale and Sheldon give up on the eggs, and I remove them without fuss.
April 16, 2008 -- How time flies when you're having fun. Courtney and Ronnie turn 18.
April 17, 2008: Courtney poses for some pictures. Lookin' good for his age.
April 22, 2008: Another blue runner gets into the bird room, but I chase this one out without harm to anyone.
May 11, 2008: Dale and Sheldon's construction project is brought to a sudden and complete halt.
October 29, 2008: Courtney and Ronnie move inside for the winter.
Dec. 10, 2008: Courtney changes his name to "Mr. Clean."
March 14, 2009: A quiet winter for the conures, more eggs for Ronnie.
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All Rights Reserved, Copyright © 2002-200- by Elaine Radford
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